Coroner Rules Girl Was Strangled

Antioch Teens Accused Of Dumping Body In Lake Marie

A coroner`s jury ruled Wednesday that 15-year-old Chandra Haak, whose body was found May 14 in Lake Marie near Antioch, was murdered by

strangulation.

The panel also decided that Haak`s death occurred before May 14 and that her body was dumped into the lake.

A fisherman found the body in a bed of cattails.

Daniel Colin, an investigator for the Lake County Sheriff`s Department, told the jurors that Haak was reported missing from her home on Lake Marie on May 1. Deputy Coroner John Rorabeck testified that an autopsy indicated that she probably died that day.

Two teenagers from the Antioch area, Terrence Nank, 18, and Jason T. Patterson, 17, have been indicted by a Lake County grand jury in connection with Haak`s death.

Nank, who allegedly killed the girl, is charged with first-degree murder. Patterson allegedly assisted Nank in placing the body in the lake. He is charged with concealing a homicide.

Investigators say Nank had confronted Haak on the day she disappeared. One allegation is that he accused her of having killed his family`s cat, they said.

Colin testified Wednesday that a rope was tied from Haak`s right ankle to her neck when the body was found in Lake Marie. The rope had been threaded through a cinder block, he said.

An autopsy by Dr. Nancy Jones, a forensic pathologist, indicated that Haak`s death was due to strangulation.

Colin told the coroner`s jury that investigators obtained statements from the teens following their arrests on May 15. ``One admitted to the strangulation death, and the other admitted to assisting his friend in concealing the body,`` he said.

A tentative trial date for Nank and Patterson has been set for July 22. Pretrial motions in the case will be heard Thursday by Lake County Circuit Judge John R. Goshgarian.